Inexpensive tube integrateds

[SP00N]

Help me compile a short list to sort through. I'm looking for medium power (30-75watts) tube integrated that can be had for under $700 used. So far the ones that caught my attention are:

Antique Sound Labs AQ1003
Jolida 202A

(Please leave opinions if possible)

[Tube pre and solid amp just didn’t give me all I was looking for so I guess this is the next best thing]

 

[Thatch_Ear]

There is an Eico ST-40 on Ebay. You should be able to buy it and have it gone through by a tech for $600 or less. New binding posts and RCA inputs, possibly signal wire replaced and it will kick ass on most anything out there. 20 to 25 watts of very serious High Fidelity using 7591 power tubes that normally are pushed to 35 watts. I think the 35 watts is there for peak power but it will normally run at around 20 meaning less heat and longer tube life. Low profile for upright tubes and a tooled aluminum with brown face. Possibly the best Eico which is by any standards big guns.
If you can do the upgrades, replace coupling caps and bias resisters yourself you could do a top notch job and get away with maybe $500 total. It is really the only piece of gear that I don't own that I would consider buying as a better piece of gear over my beloved Fishers.
Grumpy has a Sherwood that he really enjoys, and since he tends to rotate McIntosh and other goodies through his system I would put a lot of faith in the ones with the 6L6 family of power tubes.
You could go the Dyna ST-70 route and install volume pots on the inputs and not need a pre if you do not need a phono stage. Check out WWs toys.
Also any speaker with a simple crossover that is rated with an SPL/1/1 of 95 or better will work great with a SE amp. We have been waiting for Rob to biamp his speakers with a SE 6BQ5 for mids/highs and a hombrew PP EL34 amp for bass.
The higher the SPLs are on your speakers the more room you have to decide and like I said, if you don't need a phono section you can easily convert any power amp into a simple integrated simply by putting a volume pot between the RCA input and the driver tube.
The ASL and Jolida are priced like they because of Chinese labor. I have read good to very good reviews on them but would seriously consider parts upgrade as part of the package, starting with the tubes, binding posts and RCA inputs. Also remember that the manuals tend to be tranlated by English students in the Phillipines who do not speak engrish and so miss refrekshruns and nuances making it that much harder to deal with servicing, upgrading and repair.

 

[Rob]

Originally posted by Thatch_Ear
.........We have been waiting for Rob to biamp his speakers with a SE 6BQ5 for mids/highs and a hombrew PP EL34 amp for bass.

Thatch,

Est'ce vous etes speaking to moi?

Rob

 

[BrianB]

Originally posted by Thatch_Ear
The ASL and Jolida are priced like they because of Chinese labor. I have read good to very good reviews on them but would seriously consider parts upgrade as part of the package, starting with the tubes, binding posts and RCA inputs. Also remember that the manuals tend to be tranlated by English students in the Phillipines who do not speak engrish and so miss refrekshruns and nuances making it that much harder to deal with servicing, upgrading and repair.

Actually, the final production stages and quality control checks for Jolida gear are now done in the U.S. And all of my Jolida manuals would seem to be written by a native English speaker - they are very easy to follow, even for a complete novice.

SPOON: As a dealer, I looked long and hard at both Antique Sound Labs and Jolida a few months back, my goal being to bring in a line of affordable tube gear that was both great-sounding and reliable. I eventually settled on Jolida for a number of reasons. But quite honestly, I think that you'd be happy with either the ASL AQ1003 or the Jolida 202A. Both are well built and sound extremely good. And both use EL34 output tubes, which can really rock!

Do keep in mind that each of these companies has something of a "house sound". ASL amps tend to have a bit more top-end extension than Jolida amps. But Jolida amps tend to have more weight in the bottom octaves than ASL amps. At least that's how I hear it...

Happy hunting!

 

[Thatch_Ear]

Originally posted by BrianB
Actually, the final production stages and quality control checks for Jolida gear are now done in the U.S. And all of my Jolida manuals would seem to be written by a native English speaker - they are very easy to follow, even for a complete novice.

That is good to know. I used to have to build tricycles and bicycles etc that were made in China for the young ones at Christmas. Often it was easier to do it without the directions than it was to try and follow the translations.

 

[omer]

I agree with BrianB on the diff between Jolida and ASL, and we went with Molida for the same reasons, eventhough we have to import Jolida directly from the US i.e. no Canadian distributor. It's important to note that the posts on the new Jolida's are better now than before - gold plated brass 5-ways versus cheap plastic 5 ways, and the rca inputs are better now than they were, and the knobs are more solid. Note the prefix on the model numbers. The new series is JD (final assembly and testing in the US) versus the SJ series (all asssermbled in China).
Build quality on the JD series is quite good, miles ahead of the old SJ series.
The 202 and 302 is our best seller. Replace the output tubes with Mullard-sounding Electro Harmonix tubes, and you've got a KILLER sounding amp.

 

[Rob]

Thatch

Originally posted by Rob
Thatch,

Est'ce vous etes speaking to moi?

Rob

Try again.

Thatch, were you speaking to me?

Rob

 

[Thatch_Ear]

Weewee Robe! Did you ever hook up that SE 6BQ5 in a bi amp configuration? I thought you had mentioned some HF horns.